Have you heard this phrase? It is often used to refer to the anxiety and stress that people feel in the years leading up to retirement. While it is common to feel a sense of stress with any major change, many feel a higher level of anxiety as they approach retirement due to the various unknowns. This may include not knowing your longevity, what your future health needs will be, or if those family members close to you will experience their own change that requires your assistance. We may be able to help you reduce that anxiety by helping you

Retirement is different from your working years–you’re no longer putting in time and collecting a paycheck regularly. Creating a sustainable paycheck in retirement is, however, an art worth mastering. Without a full-time employer, retirees are left with the task of cobbling together a sustainable cash-flow strategy that will not only cover their expenses, but also prioritize which sources of income to use, and when. Call us if you’d like to brainstorm with us about how you envision using your savings and assets. We might have some ideas you haven’t considered that may act as a replacement for your paycheck you

Nobel laureate, the late Daniel Kahneman, proposed a question; “How does the experience of a loss compare with the experience of a gain?” There were four possible answers to choose from:  Which answer would you choose? Kahneman’s research study concluded that losses are twice as painful as gains are pleasurable:  “This phenomenon—known as loss aversion—suggests the pain we might feel from losing $100 is disproportionately more intense than the joy we would experience from gaining the same amount. One implication is that people tend to go to far greater lengths to avoid a loss than they would to rack up

We found an article recently from AARP that might interest you. It referenced a “safety-first” approach, which is something we have always believed in. The idea is to cover all of your essential expenses with guaranteed sources of income, meaning sources like Social Security, pensions, and annuities that pay you an income you can’t outlive.  If you’re married, your essential expenses should cover not only yourself, but also your spouse as well. Call us if you’d like to review your expenses and your sources of income to see if they’re measuring up to what your needs are. We’re always here

There may be a gap between how much you spend and how much you think you spend. This gap should be factored in when trying to determine how much you’ll need in retirement: Probably more than you think. It’s natural to not want to think about this: It can be disconcerting to see what you spend on those one-off purchases that you rationalize in the moment, but don’t factor into future consequences. Call us. We can help you navigate your options to fill this gap and have enough to retire comfortably. 

The importance of saving up enough for retirement cannot be emphasized enough. Seniors who retire mostly or solely on social security often end up strapped for cash. So, it’s essential to have additional income sources to tap into that can provide additional income. While we know retirement savings should be your main priority, sometimes economic circumstances force us to put aside long-term goals. When that happens, it’s all the more important to determine how that money you’ve saved up can help you now. It’s vital that you find a way to stay protected, regardless of what the market does. Call